Major Projects
In March 2013, Council resolved to accept a tender from Imagine Building to construct the first four units of a 40 unit Retirement Village in Boddington. Construction commenced in May 2013 and will be finished early in 2014. One of those units will be a ‘lease-for-life’ unit, and has already been leased out. Two will be for rental, and registrations of interest were called in September 2013. One will be furnished as a display home for a few months, following which it will be a lease-for-life unit. The second stage of the village will commence once Council has ‘sold’ the next six units.
Projects at the Shire on 08 9883 4999 for further information.
Council has undertaken a lot of work (eg. a needs analysis and concept planning) for a proposed indoor Recreation Community Centre, to be located on the western side of the main town oval (the opposite side to the existing pavilion). The existing pavilion has reached the end of its useful life. A new facility has been on the drawing board for several years, as there is no dedicated indoor recreation space at all in the district. The proposal includes 2 indoor multi-purpose courts, 2 function/multi-use rooms, bar, kitchen, change rooms, elevated timekeeper's/press box and a covered oval viewing area. Documentation and specifications, to enable construction tenders to be sought were completed in August 2012. Funding has been sought for two years. A funding application was made to Lotterywest and to the to the Department of Sport & Recreation in September 2013. Council will continue to work hard to obtain funding for this much needed facility, as it is clearly of the highest priority to the majority of the community. It will also greatly influence mine employees and contractors to decide to make their homes in the Boddington district, rather than driving in and out on a daily basis (bauxite mine) or weekly basis (gold mine).
Official Turning of the Sod for the Boddington Recreation site December 2015.
A totally new, purpose-built Youth Centre will be built in Boddington in the next few months. This project is now able to commence, as Council has been successful in obtaining a LotteryWest grant of $484,000. Council has completed all of the planning and design for the new building. Construction tenders will be called shortly. It will be located where the existing building is, next to the "old school oval", as the young people strongly voted to remain there. The Youth Centre is very successful and can no longer accommodate the number of young people who attend. This situation will be exacerbated as the population grows. The budget for this project is $750,000, to be funded by the Shire ($220,000), BHP Billiton Worsley $60,000 and LotteryWest.
Council has relocated the existing Shire Works Depot from Johnstone Street to the light industrial area in Assay Terrace, which is a far more appropriate location. The new facility will provide a more efficient operation and will free-up land for a higher and better use. The new depot inished in September 2013. Council has funded the vast majority of this project from a grant of $706,000 from the Boddington Social Infrastructure Fund, through the Peel Development Commission. The total cost is about $791,000, and excellent value for money was achieved, as Council Special Projects Unit staff sub-contracted the works out, resulting in a much lower cost than would have been the case if the whole works were contracted to a single company.
Shire Depot completed April 2014